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As the topic states, i have the error about explorer.exe failing to initialize, but this error doesnt occur on my user, only my parents. i DO recall attempting to replace uxtheme.dll to disable the patch but that failed, and i did change indexing locations for the windows search add-in, but i found the error occuring after accidentally closing explorer.exe and then re-executing it. The taskbar was in classic form for some reason and then i tried loging into my parents user, that was when the error occured. i tried booting in safe mode, admin user had the error too. i tried sfc /scannow and that didnt work. i tried system restore but it failed AND just now, for some reason, my parent's user is HIDDEN, not deleted because when i try to make a new one for them with same username, it says the account already exists though it is hidden.

Any help with the explorer.exe initialization problem?

P.S. sorry if this is a bit confusing, i want to fix the explorer.exe problem first, before fixing the user accounts problem.

thanks for the reply, unfortunately i tried downloading the link that carylon gave for ccleaner but after download complete, the file was corrupted, the new version is 3mb and currently, our internet is very slow, so is there any other possible solution?

Thanks for the advice, but just one thing, after the command thing for the dlls, do i have to reboot or can i test it straight away? also, although its user specific, there are 2 admin accounts and only one works (Me) here is what it is like:

ME

my parent's user

USER(the other admin)

btw i tried those 2 commands and they failed D: any other advice?

EDIT: i have also noticed something else that happened with the error that i forgot to mention; even though im using the windows XP theme, the taskbar, common tasks and some dialogs/buttons are in the classic form and the window frames in the xp form. just mentioning this if it relates to the error.

I don't know if you have to reboot or not (I don't have this problem) and the suggested solutions did not say. When in doubt, reboot to remove the question of if you have to reboot or not - just do it and there will be no question.

...and, I also read that this issue is likely to be seen on machines with multiple user accounts and after certain updates and some accounts will work and some will be afflicted (sounds like you).

Let's change our command to be sure there is no question about running it:

Login as Administrator or equivalent

Open a Command Prompt. (Start -> Run... -> CMD)

Assuming your boot drive is C:

Enter: cd c:\windows\system32

and you should be in the c:\windows\system32 folder, yes? Then enter:

CACLS msvcp60.dll /E /G Users:R <- try this first

CACLS rmoc3260.dll /E /G Users:R
CACLS sprio600.dll /E /G Users:R

In my example I am specifying "Users" which is a general term that should get everybody, but you can also put a specific user name there instead, like:

You said the commands failed - what does that mean? Is there no error message (how do you know it failed)? THe only way I can think of it would fail is if you are not in the c:\windows\system32 folder or you typed it in wrong.

I would rather just try the individual DLLs instead of the shotgun approach for all the DLLs so we can try to isolate it down to as few files as possible.

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates.

it removes my parent's user from the "users" group, making her account hidden from the welcome screen

Is there any OTHER solutions? 'cuz the cacls thing and the solutions on carolyn's thread don't work

btw this CPU had problems b4 and when it got fixed, it has 2 windows directories, /windows and /windows.0, where /windows.0 is the directory for %systemroot% is it possible that i have to edit the OTHER windows directory?

P.S. if there are NO other solutions, is it possible to fix this using the windows xp cd WITHOUT losing files? apart from sfc /scannow?

<<btw this CPU had problems b4 and when it got fixed, it has 2 windows directories, /windows and /windows.0, where /windows.0 is the directory for %systemroot% is it possible that i have to edit the OTHER windows directory?>>

That sort of info...should have been in the original post...if not the basis of the original post.

Sounds like your last major repair resulted in Windows being reinstalled and that maybe fixed the immediate issue (whatever it was) but left things in some unusual but apparently somewhat functional installation. Did someone do this for you or to you?

If %SystemRoot% is pointing to Windows.0 - THAT is your working windows folder. All my suggestions were doing things from and to the contents of the Windows folder.

I suppose you could go back to the beginning and replace all the references to c:\windows with c:\windows.0 and see what happens, but you would still be left with a double installation "mess".

Here is a MS article about how to remove a second installation of Windows.

Sounds like your last major repair resulted in Windows being reinstalled and that maybe fixed the immediate issue (whatever it was) but left things in some unusual but apparently somewhat functional installation. Did someone do this for you or to you?

Yes, someone did this for me, so i dont know what they actually did, but i have noticed they've already deleted the boot details of the OTHER WINDOWS folder so i think its safe to delete that.

Does your system give you two installs of XP to boot into...when the system is first turned on?

No, it goes straight to welcome screen.

System manufacturer and model?

Do you have a Microsoft XP install CD?

If by manufacturer and model, you mean the computer details, then they are as follows:

Do you recall if these problem occurred after your reinstallation or was the reinstallation an attempt to fix these problems?

All the CACLS we tried were performing their operations (changing permissions) in \windows\system32 and you are running out of \windows.0\system32. We were changing the wrong files assuming c:\windows.

There would be no harm in trying the CACLS stuff again from the \windows.0 directory.

If that works for your problem, it may be possible to "fix" your environment so it is more conventional. I am not sure and it sounds like some of the pieces in the puzzle are missing.

You should think about what you want to do if the problem persists:

Try to pursue it even in your afflicted installation and then live with your installation (and perhaps other problems later). Some members may not be too thrilled about trying to get a botched installation working.

Try to fix your afflicted installation and then pursue the problem further. I have never fixed an intallation problem like this before.

Salvage all of your personal data that you can and then start with a clean installation.

The third option would be the most likely to succeed - the others are mights and maybes.

Can you burn a CD? You might also think about making a new XP installation CD with SP3 slipstreamed in. Keep your original as a backup. There is a tutorial forum that has a good lesson, and it worked first time (even for me).

The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates.